Customer Ratings & Reviews

Beautiful headset. Comfortable on the ears for long calls or gaming. Comes with a nice "carry friendly" case that is comfortable in your fingers as well. The 1000X The Collexion headphones have nice metal accents and soft vegan leather. The earcups (Sony-speak) are oversized, and the cushioned headband is comfortable as well. The sound quality is really nice. The headphone (custom made) drivers offer great sound. Whether you're listening to "pant flap" low frequencies or midrange to higher end vocals, these headphones tracked with the sound. The offered clarity unlike other headsets I've paid more money for. With the Sony 1000X THE COLLEXION, you will get studio-like fidelity. Another feature is spatial audio with what Sony terms 360 Upmix. This takes normal stereo audio and translates it to immersive spatial sound. The headsets offer HD Noise Cancelling with Adaptive Optimization. This provides the user with Sony's HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3 and their Integrated Processor V3 which the user experience to the environment, air pressure, and fit. The Sony 1000X THE COLLEXION headphones offer very clear call quality as well. It removes ambient sounds that distract the conversation. I found the controls to be very intuitive. The buttons are shaped to enable the user to differentiate between the power, noise cancelling, and listening mode buttons. This allows the use to quick discern the buttons and quickly make adjustments without thought. Battery Life is a really important factor for me. As someone who travels a great deal, I really need the advertised 24 hours of battery life. In between flights, I can get another 1.5 hours of battery life from 5 minutes of charging. One thing that I found to be a little awkward was the continued reference to using the Sony app. I believe that a quality pair of headsets need to stand on their own (and largely, they do). But Sony, please decouple the app from an excellent user experience!

The Sony 1000X is an excellent product. The sound quality is awesome along with the features that it offers.

Wonderful headohones I had the xm5s and was scared it woudnt be worth the high price but i was proven wrong!

Very Good Purchase , Good Head Phones from Sony ,maybe the Best and I recommend to all ,I am Happy!

Worth every penny! I think these might be the best headphones of 2026

My current go-to over ear headphones are the Bowers & Wilkens PX7, which I've been very pleased with for the last 10 months. They are a bit snug, but the sound is incredible and they boast some really excellent noise canceling. They're on the heavier side as far as headphones go, but great battery life and great sound make up for it. Previously, I used both the Sony WH1000X M3 and M4 headphones, which were at the time the quintessential standard for top-of-the-line consumer noise canceling over-ear headphones. Now, a couple of generations later, the WH1000XM6 is still a highly sought after player at a retail price of $459. Enter the 1000X "The Collexion" luxury headphones... a very similar recipe as the XM6 with a couple of upgraded components, higher quality materials and a $200 premium over the XM6. But what are you getting for $200? Well, they're heavier...roughly 25% heavier. The standard XM6 (and its predecessors) are wonderfully light, they travel well, and they sound amazing. The Collexion (herein called "1000X" because that name is ridiculous) headphones sound amazing, too. The bass on these headphones is CLEAN in a way that I haven't heard in earlier iterations of the WH1000X headphones I used. This is allegedly due to slightly upgraded audio components; but if I'm being honest, this isn't a $200 upgrade. What about travling? The XM6 have a nice foldable, compact design...the 1000X have a nice hardshell protective case that, with a couple of buckles and a strap, could double as a upper-middle-class accessory to wow your friends. And, like I said, heavier...due to stainless steel construction over plastic. They lay flat, but that's about it. "But they must be comfortable," you say? Well, yes. Soft touch vegan leather ear cups and what appear to be a 'wide and deep' design, when compared to the non-luxury editions, make these oh so comfortable (assuming you can get past the weight). My ears have so much room, and as someone with a larger-than-average noggin, I love how comfortable these are. I often times find myself extending headphones nearly to the max, but these almost fit without any adjustment, which maybe happened to me once when I was a kid (but we had terrible headphones with orange foam ear covers, so it didn't matter). It does make me wonder if people with normal-sized heads would find them too big or too loose, but I'm living that "Collexion" life and couldn't be bothered with their problems. Quick note on the vegan leather ear cups...these actually work against noise cancelation performance, so it brings the 1000X more in line with 'industry standard' than typical 'Sony stellar,' which you would get on the standard edition headphones. It's still really good noise cancelation, but the premium materials actually work against noise canceling performance here. And, battery life-- rated for 24 hours on the 1000X versus 30 on the standard XM6, again due to the material selection. Now, I LOVE bespoke, fancy, bougie tech equipment, but some part of the experience has to justify that additional price tag. I don't want my nay-saying to take away from what is a truly gorgeous design, and very comfortable headphones. These without any doubt unseat my B&W PX7, but they're in a totally different class of headphone. They are functionally equivalent to the much less expensive (but let's face it, still very expensive) WH1000XM6, and for that extra $200 you get a slightly better sound stage and a beautiful piece of tech. The trade offs are just not worth it.

These headphones deliver fantastic sound quality while remaining incredibly comfortable and effective at canceling outside noise. They are also so stylish that they fooled me at first—I couldn't tell which side was right or left until I noticed the subtle large-letter markings printed on the inside of the ear cups. Other than the Sony logo, there is no visible writing on the exterior, giving them a sleek and premium look. The padded headband is both stylish and comfortable, with metal sliding adjustments that make it easy to find the perfect fit. On the left side are two discreet metal buttons that control Ambient Sound and Listening Modes, while the right side features hidden touch controls. Double-tap to pause your music and double-tap again to resume. Slide your finger up or down to adjust the volume, and swipe left or right to skip forward or return to the previous track. My favorite hidden feature is the automatic playback control—simply remove the headphones to instantly pause your music and put them back on to resume playback. It’s incredibly convenient. The headphones connect to Sony’s Sound Connect app, where you can view the status of all these features and make adjustments directly from your phone. The app also displays the remaining battery percentage, and battery life is excellent. My only complaint is that the headphones do not include a USB-C charging cable. Most of us have one already, but it still feels like something that should be included with a premium product. The headphones do come with an audio cable, which is especially useful when flying and connecting to in-flight entertainment systems. The carrying case is also very well designed. The headphones fit easily inside, and the case closes securely with a magnetic latch. It even includes a built-in handle for convenient carrying. Beyond all the features, the sound quality is what truly stands out. The Noise Canceling and Music Listening modes sound amazing, especially with the 360 Upmix feature enabled. You can customize the settings to match your preferences, but I’m confident these headphones will impress most listeners. Combined with their stylish design and all-day comfort, they make it easy to enjoy music for hours at a time.

While these Sony “1000X THE COLLEXION” headphones have a silly name, they’re the most comfortable and powerful headphones I have ever used. I’m about 6’3” 220+ with an extra large head, and I don’t even need to max out the size on these which is a first for me! Between the sizing, the band and ear cup comfort, you might not “forget you’re wearing them”, but you can comfortably wear them for hours without head squeezing pain or extra head sweat. ANC is near the best if not the best I’ve ever used, I can barely hear my 8 month old scream with it on right next to her! With the hearing through "ambient sound” mode, I can watch TV/have a conversation with them on and not miss anything! The adaptive modes work well, but call me “old school”, I prefer to just adjust it myself according to what I’m doing at the moment. (My 4 year old loves to randomly say stuff across the house to just yell and ask me if I could hear her through the headphones!) Audio quality in general is top tier, I’m no audiophile, but this is stellar! Call quality is also great, but I’m only able to compare it to my mid tier wireless buds, and it completely obliterates them. I’m not a huge fan of the app, it works fine, I just feel like it should be top tier in this value category. I am a big fan, however, of the fancy touch panel on the right earcup that controls stuff like up and down for volume, forward/backward for skipping, and tapping to answer calls or play/pause! Overall I give these fancy beasts top marks, just make sure this value category fits your budget! If they do, go for it!

It can be rather challenging as an audiophile, albeit almost impossible, to find the perfect pair of headphones; or perhaps, a more accurate re-phrased statement, is that not only are we trying find a pair that provides high-quality sound across a multitude of genres, but also provides high-end features and comfortability. However, we must also recognize that not everyone will have the same sound preference, nor do we have the same hearing capability. It is certainly here that will be the utmost point of contention with any audio product. Nonetheless, we can all agree that life is not complete without music, and to that end, lossless quality is the only standard worth listening to. Thus, as a physical music collector, I was quite excited to test out the latest offering from Sony, the X1000 Collexion, and could not wait to test my massive FLAC collection! Physically, the X1000 seems to be constructed fairly well; the metal reinforced headband, combined with the soft leather is certainly appealing and quite comfortable. While wearing these for a couple of hours, I did not experience any pain on my ears or listening fatigue; both cups had plenty of cushion. Furthermore, the left and right-side ear cups easily adjusted up and down accordingly. Overall, aesthetic wise the X1000s do look and feel like a premium product. Lastly, the headphones come with a 3.5.mm headphone jack and cable. Unfortunately, there is no audio over the USB Type-C connection. On initial setup, the Sony X1000 should be a straightforward process, verbatim to every other pair of headphones. As expected, features are tied to an application with an account, though luckily the main settings can be changed without logging in. Nonetheless, the Sony Connect application felt excessive, as others do, with the popup tutorials and bloated features; for example, I don’t see anyone using the Scene / Discover tabs or the “Sound AR” feature (if you accidently enable service link, you can deactivate it by going to system and slide service link off). As for quality settings, you can alter your listening modes (standard, music, cinema, game, background music) and change the equalizer presets (heavy, clear hard, soft, etc.). You should also set the headphone connection setting to Classic Audio Only, since it defaults to LE priority; connectively under Bluetooth Connection Quality, you should set either sound quality preferred or stable connection, though unfortunately the Bluetooth codec will be chosen automatically. Luckily, my Xperia 5 III connected to LDAC seamlessly. Lastly, don’t forget by default the headphones will update the firmware automatically, so I suggest you turn that off. As for my first test, I wanted to see how the X1000 noise cancelling feature performed. Luckily for me, at the time of this writing, a thunderstorm rolled through my area so this was the perfect opportunity. In a nutshell, these are the best noise cancelling headphones that I have personally used; quite literally, as I stood by the window with no music playing, the noise cancelling rendered everything nearly silent compared to ambient mode. I couldn’t even hear the low rumbles of thunder. Interestingly, even in off mode, it was still pretty silent overall, though I did occasionally hear a spray of rain hitting the window. It is still an amazing effect, even with all these years of hearing various implementations of noise cancelling on other headphones; compared to my Px8 S2’s, these definitely have a tighter seal. With call quality, the X1000 features 6 beamforming microphones that leverages voice isolation technology to provide a high quality call experience. To test these features, I went ahead and proceeded to take a 50-minute phone call while swapping between the different modes. While on the call, the user told me that my voice sounded perfectly clear and positioned. With my room silent, interestingly enough, they could not discern a different between the various modes. However, once I began playing loud music in the background, and later adding a loud TV to the mix, they immediately could hear a significant difference with noise cancelling enabled; all background noise was noticeably less distracting, and my voice more aggressively isolated and clear. Next, I wanted to test the X1000 Collexion’s battery life performance on a complete charge. As with every pair of headphones, the X1000’s come pre-charged at around 50%. After fully charged, the headphones were left in LDAC mode, with sound quality preferred. In addition, as noted above with my phone call test, I toggled back and forth between noise cancelling and ambient mode on the same 50-minute phone call. After 3 hours, the battery had dropped to a mere 91% coming from a full charge. Impressive! Lastly, please note that Sony recommends that your USB adapter to not exceed 13 watts (5v / 2.6 amps) so keep that in mind. Before I begin my sound test, I first wanted to take a moment to discuss a few preliminary points, most notably my music files. First and foremost, all music was played from my Xperia 5 III in LDAC mode as noted previously (sound quality preferred on both the app and the phone). As a physical music collector, all of my songs (4,282 songs across 14 genres; 386 GB total music backup) have been derived from my personal CD collection and were ripped by EAC 1.6 using the secure rip feature. Subsequently, all songs were encoded to FLAC 1.4.3. and personally scanned through a spectrogram (Spek 0.8.5) to make sure it is of proper lossless quality (remember just because it’s on physical CD, does not guarantee it is in proper quality!). Lastly, as point of emphasis, while the quality of LDAC and my FLAC files are certainly huge advantages on their own, we must keep in mind that drops (packet loss) in the Bluetooth transfer undoubtedly will occur, even if its inaudible. Furthermore, we must also recognize that people hear and perceive sounds differently; what I have heard, as well as my sound preferences, will likely differ than yours. As such, we just need to be aware that reality and perception are two separate things. As for sound quality, depending on what headphones you currently use, will ultimately determine your opinion; my first initial reaction is that these immediately sounded differently than my Px8 S2. The best way to describe it is that the sound is pulled much further back into the headphones, almost as if there is a flat EQ setting turned on. Furthermore, the X1000s do not get as loud as the Px8 S2’s; on several occasions I found myself approaching 50-60% volume whereas on my Px8 S2’s I can barely get past 30%. As a result, I found myself trying to alter the EQ settings a bit to try and find a proper balance. However, with the EQ turned off and at 50% volume, it would seem to me that these are very heavily mix dependent; take for example, “The King” from the Kingdom of Heaven (2005) soundtrack. Starting at 0:24, you can hear slight tapping of a middle chime, at which point soon as the vocals begin, you can clearly separate the two sounds. Connectively, I feel the low-end is a bit too exaggerated here; it rumbles a bit too much. However, between 4:43-4:53, I really like the separation between the wind instrument and the tone layered underneath it. Subsequently, on the “Path to Heaven”, this track has some amazing vocal work that captures the middle frequencies perfectly; everything was clear and rendered beautifully. Switching genres to more instrumental tracks, the X1000 really shine on tracks that feature strong low-end bass-notches and easily isolated middles and highs such as those found on the track “The Space Between Two World” by Nujabes. While lacking a bit on the high frequencies, you can clearly isolate all three sections of the track, starting with the first twenty seconds. Once the main guitar line kicks in, the tapping middles are layered perfectly over it. Similarly, on “624, Part 2” by Fat Jon, the nice piano section accompanies the lower bass end and tapping middles seamlessly. Overall, for any genre focuses bass/low-end seems to be the X1000’s advantage, such as Rap, Dance, or Trance. However, as mentioned before, depending on the compression involved and the particular mix, the results were a bit varied. For example, the Metal genre was severely hit or miss and depended heavily on the song. For example, listening to “Vast Eternal” by Ov Sulfur at 3:02 is a bit rough where low-end, vocals, and middles are all crushed to oblivion. Connectively, the track “Coming Storm” by Septicflesh is nearly identical in peak and RMS values (DR4), yet despite the orchestra, guitars, drums, and vocals, there is a bit more separation especially at the 2:55- 3:15 range, though obviously still compressed. Overall, I think most should be fairly pleased with the results, though obviously this will be heavily dependent on what you listen to. In conclusion, the Sony X1000 is an interesting proposition, despite being in an awkward position within the headphone space; first because of the price, but secondly they will never be able to shake the WH-1000XM6 comparison. While the sound is a bit inconsistent from genre to genre, there are times where they do absolutely sound really good. In addition, they are extremely comfortable to wear and both call quality and noise cancelling is definitely a huge plus. For headphones owners of a similar price point model, you should approach these with caution; for all others, the X1000s are certainly worth a look, just keep your expectations at a reasonable level. Personally, I think Px8 S2’s is the strongest competition to the X1000s, albeit they are more expensive and lack LDAC support, but they can pass audio through USB-C and 3.5mm. Overall, I am still pleased with the experience of the X1000s and they certainly do perform reasonably. With that said, as long as you are aware of the caveats, the X1000s come recommended.

This product does not offer good value for the price.

There is a lot to break down when it comes to the Sony 1000X The Collexion headphones. First off, taking the headphones out of the box was a genuine pleasure. The entire headphone is wrapped in soft vegan leather. They feel and look high-end. The headband is very well cushioned, and the earcups are padded and large, fitting entirely over my ears. I wore them for six hours straight on the first day—walking, working at a desk, eating, talking, etc. No discomfort at all. Super comfortable. If we talk key features, we’re going to be here for a while. I’m mostly just going to touch on what I used the 1000X for, instead of breaking down each feature. Noise cancelling is fantastic. You can also select to allow ambient noise in, but I had no interest in that. For me, noise canceling is a must. I work in a very busy, noisy area, and being able to turn off all outside voices and sound is essential. The 1000X do that perfectly. It uses 12 microphones with 2 processors to actively adjust and cut out sound. And it shows. I put these right up there against, maybe even slightly better, than some other rather pricey ANC headphones that I have. Battery life is fantastic. I have had these for a couple of days now, and have worked with them on my head without a charge for nearly 20 hours. Still haven’t had to charge them. That’s talking on the phone, listening to music, and even doing some gaming on my phone with these blasting in my ears. I did download the Sony Sound Connect app and went through it, but honestly, the amount of settings for these headphones is a bit overwhelming. I did try to use 360 Reality Audio Upmix, but I didn’t care for the sound when it came to music. It made the sound too harsh (and these are harsh-sounding cans anyways) and I experienced listening fatigue quickly. For movies and games however, using the Game and Cinema modes did result in a more immersive experience, which was cool. There are several ways of controlling the 1000X, but I stuck to my phone or tablet for controlling them. I just didn’t need the controls on the headphones themselves so I can’t comment much on how they work. There is a setting in the app where you can ask the headphones to figure out what kind of activity you are engaged in and adjust sound accordingly. I didn’t really notice that much of a difference between how they sounded when I was exercising or when I was just sitting still, but perhaps as time goes on the AI will adjust the sound more. Speaking of sound, this is where I have a mixed opinion of the 1000X. The 1000X can sound rather harsh when the volume is turned up. I have had other high-end Sony headphones before, and these always sounded smooth, even under high volume. The 1000X on the other hand gave me a lot of listener fatigue. Which is too bad, because they are among the most detailed mid and bass headphones I’ve listened to. Songs with a growling bass and a lot of tom work, like Tool’s 46 and 2, sound amazing until the guitar starts shrieking. Then I have to turn the volume down because it makes my ears hurt. I found this same issue on Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk, Loreena McKennitt’s Marco Polo, and Neil Diamond’s Soolaimon. They sounded great from a bass and mid-range perspective, but shrill when it came to treble. I had to adjust the EQ accordingly. Which works; that is why it is there, but at the same time I felt like cutting back on the treble using the EQ affected the overall performance of these cans. There is a remastering software, DSEE, that takes lower bit-rate music and upsamples it. I turned it on for anything played off of Spotify, and there was a difference in sound. I can’t say that it improved the sound, just that it made it sound different. So, for me, the 1000X Collexion cans are a little bit of a mixed bag. They are arguably the most luxurious wireless headphones I have owned. They are lightweight for over-the-ear cans, comfortable, and wrapped in leather—definitely a high-end feel to them. The feature set is impressive. Battery life is amazing. At low to mid-volumes, and on songs that are more bass and midrange focused, these are great cans. But at high volumes, they require EQ to tame the shrill highs and listener fatigue. Based on my experience with them and the price point that they reside at, I rate these a solid 4 stars.

So, I was skeptical at first with these headphones. I know Sony was trying to polish previous attempts at high end headphones and I have to say for the most part I've been very impressed with these headphones. The first most noticeable thing is the build quality improvements over some of their other headsets. The headphones while not "heavy" have a premium feel and I don't feel like I'm going to break the things just by putting them on my head like some of their past headphones. Also, the material on the earcups (outside) is a nice touch over just plain plastic. Sound quality is on par or slightly better than other high-end headphones I've used (at least to my preferences). Also, I was able to get in a several hour listening session and almost forgot I had them on so that's a nice touch in the comfort area as well. One other area that wow ‘ed me was the ANC (noise cancelling), this is one of the best systems I've experienced so far. They blocked out all noise in the area I was in, and I did not get that strange static pressure sense like some earlier versions from Sony caused me. It's also nice that they don't just have on and off but that there is a true "passthrough" mode available as well, that's nice if you’re in an area where you need to be able to hear the things around you but still want to use the headphones. While the headphones don't tightly fold up there is a very nice carry case that comes with the headphones and for the most part, I feel that is acceptable for this class of headphones so no real complaints about that. It's nice that the case has a magnetic latch on it and it totally covers the headphones unlike some other brands "cases". Overall sound quality was great, and using the headset for things like phone calls was actually very good compared to some other headsets I've used in the past so that was a nice touch as well. If I had any complaints, it would be two things, first the headphones come with a nice 3.5mm jack so you can use the headset with a normal headphone jack which is nice, however they don't include a USB cable for charging in the case at all. I feel like not including a simple cable like that in a headset at this cost is a little bit of a copout. Those cables are not that expensive, and it should have been included so I could have a cable in the case with the headphones when I need to charge the things instead of needing to dig through my own collection of cables. The only other thing is while the earcups are super comfortable, because they are memory foam, they do tend to get a little warm after extended listening sessions. But overall, that's a minor issue and not something that would keep me from wanting them overall. I think with everything considered this is one of my new favorite sets of headphones overall which is impressive because of the sheer number of headsets I've used and currently have. I'll probably continue to reach for these first in a lot of cases now.

These Sony 1000X THE COLLEXTION Headphones are quite simply the best that I've ever had in many ways. I've had many different premium brands over the years and they are all wonderful. This is replacing Sony 1000XM4 headphones that were my previous favorite ever. These improve on them in a few ways but also improve on most other headphones that I've ever had I the same ways. First and foremost, when talking about headphones we need to talk about sound. I was actually quite impressed with the standard sound. It was clear and the voice, bass and treble all came through as I would hope. But I've been using the immersive setting, and it improves the sound a lot. It really is immersive and the music sounds better than anything else I've ever used. One reason that the 1000XM4 were my previous all-time favorites was both because they sounded great and the touch controls. They retain the touch controls, so that makes me very happy. If you've never used similar ones, you tap to pause; double tap to play again; swipe forward to skip and back to go back. Swipe up to increase volume and down to decrease. You can also place your hand over the right side and it will let the sound through when you're using noise cancellation. Once you get the hang of the motions, it's awesome and so intuitive. Comfort is also just as important as sound since no matter how good something sounds, if you can't wear them long, it really doesn't matter. These are the most comfortable I've ever had, too. They fit completely over my ears and have room to space, so I have no ear discomfort. They are very light but still feel solid. I turned on the music and they almost disappeared as I listened. I generally don't used over the ear headphones while walking, but if you do then the adaptive sound is killer. It senses and learns where you are and will adjust the noise cancellation based on that. The times that I have used it, it is great in situations where a car or something is coming and it allows that sound through, so you're not surprised as it goes by. I can see this being very useful on things like public transport where the stops are getting announced. If there's one thing that I would want improved, it's the noise cancelling. Not so much that I'd rate it lower, but it's just a personal preference. It works very well, so don't get me wrong. I just wish that it blocked a little more. Overall, these are simply the best sounding and most comfortable headphones. I would recommend them to anyone.

I’ve owned the Sony WHCH720N for years. They are good noise-canceling headphones. Not the best; they are more of a budget headset. I have an office that sits near a busy street. I would hear cars drive by, I would hear my A/C run, and I would hear the garbage truck. When I put the Collexion on, I hear none of that. I had to check my camera feed to see if the garbage truck even passed by. I can only tell if the AC is on by taking the headphones off or just by feeling how cold it is in the room. Without a doubt, this is the best noise-cancelling I have ever experienced. You can still barely make out the audible noise from my AC or heater with the headphones, but you have to focus hard on trying to hear it. The Collexion comes in the most eco-friendly box I’ve ever seen. Inside the box, you get a carrying case that looks like a purse. I may have to end up using it when I travel because when you unfold the headphones and lay them around your neck, they are tight. I have been able to wear them for hours on my head, but unfortunately, when I take them off, sometimes the headband gets stuck to my hair. When I first picked them up, I was surprised by the build quality. I’ve owned maybe 15 different pairs of headphones, and by far this is the heaviest and best-constructed one I’ve ever seen or felt. It is incredibly soft, and the glossy metallic headband glides smoothly. The high price tag makes sense. The pairing process is odd. On my PC, I can pair through Bluetooth, but on my iPhone, I had to pair it with the Sound Connect app. You cannot go into the Bluetooth settings and pair it there. This is unlike my other Sony Headphones. This app also asks you to create or log in to a Sony account and sign a bunch of agreements. Let me repeat that. I had to sign a couple of agreement forms for… headphones... While going through the process, I did encounter an error trying to log in. It read “An error has occurred. Please start again from the beginning.” Which is the most frustrating message to read after you’ve already spent several minutes logging in. Every other pair of headphones I have ever used just takes a few seconds to pair, and not several minutes. After you are signed into the app and have completed those agreements, even if you have to repair the process is a lot shorter. Still has to be done through the app, but at least you can repair it in under one minute. You can cover the right earcup to go into ambient mode. This is a mode that helps you hear your surroundings. I turned the speak-to-chat feature off, which is a feature that turns on the ambient mode when it notices you are talking. If you find yourself always having your hands full and someone wants to have a conversation with you, maybe this would be of use to you. Sometimes I would sing a song or talk out loud, and then I would go into the ambient mode, so it did not work for me. They have multiple listening modes that are able to be switched between with a dedicated button on the headphones. They have a standard default option, one for music, one for gaming, and a few more. I found that, honestly, the standard sounds good regardless of what you’re doing. The music mode is heavy on the bass, which I like, but the voices of the artists sound weird, not sure how to describe it. I thought I would like the gaming mode, but honestly, the standard mode is just fine for gaming. I thought maybe I could go into the music mode and adjust the EQ, but you cannot. You can only adjust the EQ on the standard mode. I was hoping on the music mode I could keep the bass where it is and adjust the EQ accordingly to fix the voices, but you cannot. On the app, you are forced to keep the standard and pick between two other modes. Ideally, I wanted the cinema mode, music mode, and gaming mode to switch to, but that is not possible. You have the ability to switch between 2 devices simultaneously. Although I could not really get it to work. I was playing music on my computer, and then I started playing a TikTok video on my phone. Even if I paused the music, I would not be able to play the TikTok video through the headphones. I think this is meant for calls? You are able to prioritize sound quality or connection on the app, which I do like. I have the priority on quality, and even if I am far away from my computer, like on the other side of my house, it still sounds good and does not cut out. The other button on the headphones is to turn on noise cancelling or to change it to ambient sound. So it’s not much different than the speech-to-chat feature or putting your hand over the earcup. So yeah, there are multiple ways to go into the ambient sound mode. Also in this mode, you can hear yourself clearly. I suppose so you don’t end up yelling at the person you’re talking to. Alternatively, you can also just remove the headphones and your music will pause the music. Once you put your headphones back on, it will resume playing. There is also a head gesture feature. You can shake your head to reject a call, for example. One feature that you may like, but I did not, was the automatic power off. I use these headphones for VOIP calls. By default, the option is enabled to save you power. Since I take a lot of calls, I never want the headphones to turn off by themselves. & since my priority is my work, I unpaired my phone so a personal call or music playback would not interrupt a work call. So guess what, yes I had to go into the Sound Connect app and spend a minute repairing through the app, and then turning off the setting. You are not able to change the turn-off time, nor does it tell you when it automatically turns off. It’s maybe only 10 minutes or less. Just now I went on an hour-long lunch and came back, put on my headphones, and music automatically started playing. So much better than saving battery. All these settings (and more that I did not even get to test) can be added to the app’s homescreen. It will become a quick toggle. So overall, these headphones are not perfect. The noise cancelling is good. The sound modes need work and need customization. I would imagine the pairing process is going to stay locked behind an app, an agreement, and an account. Hopefully, my neck does not get a rash from wearing these around my neck. And I hope I don’t go bald in a few months after it continues to pull my hair out. To tell you the truth, this feels like a beta product. Which should not be the case, considering Sony has been making headphones for decades. Even if you went with something like the WHCH720N, I think you would still be happy with it. You would end up saving $500 and still get decent noise cancelling. That feels like a finished product. I don’t feel like a beta tester wearing it. If you have the money, then spend it on these luxurious headphones, but if you don’t, maybe don’t spend your money on a beta product. I’ll still daily these but there may come a day when I put on my old headphones. I just hope we get more customization, and I hope that these might need a break-in period to feel more comfortable.

The Sony 1000X The Collexion is a luxury audiophile version of the XM series with decent active noise cancellation. You get a comfortable set of headphones that are wrapped in vegan leather for a luxurious feel. I was able to wear the headphones for 6 hours without the top of my head hurting. The top of my head is a headphone pain hotspot if they do not fit well or are too heavy. The Collexion’s sound stage is the star of the show with a wider, more spacious, and more refined sound stage than the Sony WH-1000XM6. Vocals and instruments, especially with lossless or LDAC playback. For iPhones you will need to connect the headphones with a cable to receive lossless audio but android phones such as the Google Pixel Pro and the Samsung Galaxy line are good to go on LDAC playback. The Collexion blocks noise very well, but Sony clearly tuned it to prioritize sound quality and premium comfort over maximum silence. Make no mistake, the XM6 still wins in the active noise cancellation category. The Collexion will give a respectable amount of active noise cancellation and truer sound representation than what comes out of the bass heavy XM6. If you are in high noise environments where you need top tier active noise cancellation then The Collexion might best be used at home for you. The Sony sound connect app allows you to customize and “upmix” audio to sound better on the headphones. Besides that feature I didn't think many other features helped enhance my headphone experience. The Collexion will work well in an airplane, trains, and typical city noise. However if you are battling loud Bluetooth speaker on the metro or constant siren noises The Collexion might not be for you. However, if your priority is pure music enjoyment and luxurious design, The Collexion is arguably Sony’s best sounding wireless headphone yet.

These are almost the perfect headphones I am no audiophile, but these are the best sounding headphones I’ve ever listened to, even out of the box. I have the Sony WH-1000 xm6 also, and the 1000x sound even better than those. I really don’t notice much improvement in the noise cancelling. Maybe the 1000x are a little better with NC, but I really cannot tell a difference under normal use around the house and office. The amount of EQ customization is fantastic, much more options over the Bose EQ. I have tailored the headphones to match my preference in sound perfectly. The build quality is great. They feel and seem like a higher quality build with premium materials. The case is nicer too, but at this price point, surely a charging case could’ve been included. The issue keeping these from 5 stars is the fit. The ear cups are very comfortable, but they are very loose on my head, and I have a pretty big head. With normal walking movement, they will slip towards the front of my head no matter how I try to wear and adjust them. On my 13 year old daughter, much smaller head, they fall right off if she leans slightly forward. It’s like they didn’t even try to test them with people moving. I’m very disappointed in the fit to say the least. While the sound is the best, I cannot recommend these over the 1000xm6 due to the fit.

Sony Has Done It Again: I’ve been a multi-decade Sony fan; but even if I were new to Sony, I couldn’t refute the superior quality of these WH-1000XX headphones. This is Sony’s 10-year anniversary model which is meant to celebrate/highlight their hugely popular WH-1000XM series of headphones. (Among other pairs of Sony headphones, I still use a pair of 2017 Sony WH-1000XM2 headphones in black with my desktop PC & laptop in my home office.) Back to the new headphones: from the initial unboxing of the new tech packaging & travel case to the next-level softness when I slid them over my ears, it was apparent that Sony is still competing/striving to remain at or near the top of the leaderboard in premium consumer audio headphones. Out of the Box: I topped these off with a charge (about 20 min). Before I forget, & this is admittedly a small thing, but I’ve never liked that Sony uses an orange/amber charging indicator. I prefer a green light like most other brands employ so that I know when the device is fully charged. The amber light isn’t intuitive, & I find myself searching to know when charging is complete. Anyway, I already had the Sony Sound Connect App loaded on my Android phone; so, the headphones paired quickly, & I was able to begin listening to my music in under 5 minutes. Premium Build Quality & Comfort: These headphones beg to be held in your hands & strapped to your head. But if you reach for them, do they really feel as good as they look? Yes! In a word or two, they look & feel refined & luxurious. The softness of the padded headband, earcups, & earpads almost feels like lambskin. But it’s a premium synthetic leather that Sony reportedly spent 2 years developing & engineering to look & feel more like real leather. The kicker is that the material these headphones are wrapped in, is not only more durable & touch-sensitive vs. most faux leathers, but it’s exceptionally comfy to wear during extended listening sessions. Case in point: over the last few days, I binge watched a multi-episode business documentary, listened to several teaching podcasts, & enjoyed some beautifully orchestrated instrumental music tracks from my playlist of favorite artists. Over the hours, I found these headphones wore exceptionally well. Instead of feeling pressure & discomfort on my temples, the tops of my ears, & the top of my head, as I usually do w/most over-the-ear headphones, these continued to feel plush & comfortable. I also like the way the hand-polished metal & close-tolerance sliders in the headband are designed for smooth adjustability. And the quality spring on the headband keeps it secure but, again, not too tight. It’s clear that Sony gave a lot of thought paid a lot of attention to detail when they designed & engineered these sleek, stylish, modern, minimalist headphones. Sound Quality: Without question, these cans offer some of the best sound quality of any headphones I’ve tried. With multiple Listening Mode options, 10-band EQ adjustments, & multiple mechanisms included in the Sony Connect App, you can dial in & enjoy a rich variety of full sound quality across a broad cross-section of genres—from classical to instrumental, from pop to rock, & from movie soundtracks to Broadway musicals—& hear the kind of music you want to listen to, the way you want to hear it. In addition, you can adjust settings so that you can discern a more precise separation of instruments. Just over the last several days, I’ve been able to recognize musical nuances that I’ve been unable to glean from my previous headphones. And the voice clarity on phone calls & podcasts is also exceptional. In reading Sony’s acoustic architecture technical specs, they highlight their custom dynamic 30mm carbon composite soft-edge drivers & AI-powered DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) Ultimate audio upscaling. This is Sony’s first wireless headphone model to feature DSEE Ultimate w/its enhanced sampling rate & upscaling technology that restores lost detail & dynamic range & essentially rebuilds compressed music files as you listen. Sony’s proprietary technology effectively upscales low-res or compressed files to sound more like hi-res audio. 360 Reality Audio Upmix: Sony utilizes a spatial audio technology they call 360 Reality Audio Upmix. There’s a dedicated button on the left earcup that allows you to choose from different listening modes—Standard, Music, Background Music, Cinema, or Gaming—so that you can change the sound dimensions to simulate a more immersive 360º Surround Sound-type experience. The upmixing provides a way to identify, define, & more distinctly separate the brass from the woodwinds from the strings from the percussion & so forth, not to mention breaking out the vocals from the instruments. You can customize a lot between the listening modes & the EQ. Of course, for max personalization & enjoyment, you’ll want the ability to create & control your own custom audio profiles, which you can access through the Sony Sound Connect app. Adaptive Noise Cancelling (ANC): This important feature is powered by Sony’s next-gen dual chip processor which includes the QN3 HD NC processor & the V3 integrated processor along w/12 mics (6 mics in each earcup) to continuously adjust to your environment. While Sony struck a nice balance between supreme sound quality & noise canceling, at some pt., their design engineers had to make a choice as to where they would invest the most time, effort, & funds. I think they rightly decided to focus their efforts first & foremost on producing the best studio-grade sound quality they could. Having said that, while the noise cancelling on this unit isn’t the best I’ve heard, it’s still as good or better than most. For NC, I’d give these a 4 out of 5. It may be apples & oranges, but I still find that my in-ear Sony earbuds possess a better capability of blocking out more outside noise than these over-ear headphones. But as circumaural headphones go, these are still quite good. Wireless Connectivity: -BT 6.0 LE audio & lossless streaming for listening to music & making phone calls. -Audio Codecs: LDAC & AAC for high-res music streaming. -Multipoint connection: pair 2 devices at once Earcup Controls: I like the intuitive controls on the earcups rather than having to whip out my phone App every time I want to access a different headphone feature or make an adjustment. The left earcup contains the physical, tactile buttons to press for Power, NC, & Listening Modes, whereas the right earcup is strictly swipe. Through the touch controls you can answer calls, play & pause music (music auto-pauses when you remove your headphones), skip tracks, control volume, turn on/off NC, etc. You can also access voice asst. to ask questions, send texts, & control your music. Rechargeable Battery Life: Sony lists up to 24 hrs. of battery life per charge with NC on (& up to 32 hrs. with NC off). I’ve enjoyed these headphones for 5 days straight & I’m still on the initial charge. This is happily far more battery life than I’ve enjoyed with any other set of headphones or pair of earbuds. So, I don’t understand what the rub is for folks who’re unhappy that these don’t provide 30 hours of battery life per charge when you can do a 5-min. quick-charge & get another 90 mins. of play from them. Accessories: Included is a sculpted low-profile case w/a carry handle & magnetic latch for quick storage & transport as well as for easy-open access when you’re ready to use them again. I’ve developed a habit of storing these in their case whenever they’re not in use to protect them from spills, dust, & damage in the event they’re dropped. Also included is a black 4ft 3.5mm audio cable for wired use. No USB-C charging cable is included, which is hard to believe at this price point. Summary: I rated these at 4.5 stars but rounded up to 5-star quality headphones that truly shine. Sony’s latest effort is a good start towards the kind of no-compromise top-tier consumer headphones I’m still hoping they’ll eventually build.